Purple corn

Purple corn (Spanish: maíz morado) or purple maize is group of flint maize varieties (Zea mays indurata) originating in South America, descended from a common ancestral variety termed "kʼculli" in Quechua.

[3] The pigment giving purple corn its vivid color derives from an exceptional content of a class of polyphenols called anthocyanins.

[4][5][6] Similar results for anthocyanin content were found from a variety of purple corn grown in China.

[8] For ease of extractions, scientists have explored components of the purple corn plant for yield, such as kernels, cob and husk, possibly allowing use of a plentiful, non-edible residual biomass in cobs or husks.

Husks of the purple corn plant contain about ten times higher content of anthocyanins than do kernels.